The resilience of Australia’s civic culture is being tested.
In the wake of the Bondi terrorist attack, research has highlighted that many young people are seemingly attracted to extremist messages. For example, 39% of boys identified with “right-wing violent extremism”, while 30.4% of girls supported “right-wing beliefs”.
There have also been reports that about one-third of people in anti-extremist programs in Australia are under 18 years old, while ASIO continues to be concerned about individuals who had links to groups including the National Socialist Network and Hizb ut-Tahirir.
These examples indicate that many young people feel dissatisfied. They highlight a need to better-understand what approaches are currently in place, and what more can be done, to support Australians' appreciation of their rights and responsibilities as citizens, and how they can be empowered to make a positive impact on society.
Schools as sites for civic education
Schools have been an important site where young people have learnt about democracy and their powers and obligations as members of the community. In Australia, these have been delivered in civics and citizenship classes, which have sought to inspire young people to become “active and informed” members of society.
Civics and citizenship is a feature of the Australian curriculum that runs through primary and secondary school years. The aims of civics and citizenship include building an appreciation of Australia’s diverse society, as well as students’ skills to strengthen democracy.
As previously discussed, however, the latest national testing showed that 72% of Year 10 students are not reaching the proficient standard for their year level, which is the highest rate on record since testing began in 2004.
Universities as sites for civic empowerment
As we demonstrate in our latest research article, there’s been considerable discussion about the role of universities in developing the civic knowledge of students in the 21st century.
This has been in the broader context of calls by the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee to “support educational and school programs that improve co-operation, communication and participation, as well as increasing critical ability, reducing prejudice and building tolerance, understanding, empathy, and an openness to diversity”.
Read more: Young people remain ill-equipped to participate in Australian democracy
As a way of offering innovative learning experiences while supporting the development of civic skills of students, we began to deliver a new university-wide elective unit through the portfolio of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student Experience) in 2024. In this unit, students progress through coursework, assessments, and complete at least 24 hours of volunteering with a local not-for-profit organisation.
Following the completion of the first iteration of this unit, we interviewed students to gain insights about their experiences and identify impacts on their understanding of civics.
For some students, the unit and its practical volunteering placement led to gaining greater insights about the interactions between government and non-government organisations, and the positive impacts they could have on broader society.
Students felt encouraged to not just reflect on social issues they observed in their placement, but also to suggest ways to address those issues through improved social policy or community engagement.
The unit also fostered the creation of social connections. These links were forged not just with university peers, but also with people they met through volunteering in practice.
Both local and international students came to appreciate the different ways culture and community intersect. This expanded the civic and social lives of students.
For other students, the experience provided them with opportunities to make a practical impact on their community. As one student told us, the unit provided the “little push” they needed to engage in civic activities.
Where to from here?
Since the national Civics and Citizenship curriculum concludes in Year 10, young Australians may not have opportunities to learn about specific content concerning democracy, government or civics in the last two years of secondary education unless they enrol in an elective unit such as Legal Studies or Politics. This presents universities with an opportunity to be the site of civic upskilling.
Our research shows that a specialist unit that can build civic knowledge through practical volunteering may help support the development of civic literacy of students in post-secondary school settings.
This can be critical in extending students’ confidence to take on positive leadership roles in the community and help strengthen Australian democracy and civic culture in the 21st century.
